In known laundry appliances having a front-loading opening, the housing opening is in alignment with the drum opening. In order to make loading easier, some manufacturers have been offering laundry appliances having an enlarged loading opening (also referred to as porthole) for some time. However, there are certain limits to the drum opening to ensure that not too many laundry items travel from the turning drum toward the porthole or bellows and remain there during the movement of the laundry. This risk is particularly high if the ring remaining between the drum opening and the outer drum wall is too narrow.
An example of an approach to improving accessibility is known from European Patent EP 1 285 986 B1. There, the central axis of the housing opening is spaced from and above the central axis of the drum opening. This design approach may, in fact, provide an improvement as far as a better view into the drum is concerned, but the accessibility of the drum through the relatively narrow loading opening is still in need of improvement. According to another approach described in that patent, the assembly is arranged such that it is slightly inclined, whereby the drum opening faces slightly upward. This approach is not entirely satisfactory either, because the visibility is enhanced only in the direction toward the drum end located opposite. The view into the front portion of the drum is not enhanced.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,256,823 B1 also describes a front-loading washing machine, in which the housing opening is spaced from and above the drum opening. In order to prevent laundry items from getting between the door glass and the bellows seal, the lower region of the bellows seal has a plurality of ribs formed thereon or attached thereto one behind the other, as viewed in the axial direction. However, the ribs make it more difficult for the laundry to slide along the bellows seal when loading or unloading the drum.
German Utility Model DE 200 16 977 U1 describes an elliptical housing opening which improves both access and view into the interior of the drum. However, this approach can be used only if the esthetic appearance of the design allows for it. The door requires a very high degree of dimensional accuracy with respect to shape and alignment during assembly, because slight differences in position could impair the tightness. The attachment of the bellows seal to the front wall also requires very accurate alignment, because a slight rotation would make the intended fit impossible.
It is known from German Patent Application DE 40 30 290 A1 to enlarge the housing opening of a laundry dryer. However, there, the enlarged housing opening, which is located near the deepest point of the inner surface of the drum, was found to negatively affect the loading and unloading operations. During these operations, it may occur that individual laundry items fall out of the drum.